Accused's native village in shock

Two villages in Bihar are grappling with a tragedy in faraway Delhi - the horrific rape and torture of a five-year-old child. Bharathua, a corner of Muzaffarpur, is devastated. It had some claim to fame locally, but now, the accused, Manoj Kumar, has only brought it notoriety.

Two villages in Bihar are grappling with a tragedy in faraway Delhi - the horrific rape and torture of a five-year-old child.

Bharathua, a corner of Muzaffarpur, is devastated. It had some claim to fame locally, but now, the accused, Manoj Kumar, has only brought it notoriety.

"Gandhi baba had spent a week at Bharathua in the 1930s. Filmmaker Prithviraj Kapoor had shot parts of his movies here," said Manje Rai, 67, a resident. "The past of Bharathua makes it all the more difficult for us to swallow the deeds Manoj is accused of," added Malful Rai, 70. The other village in the nearby Sitamarhi district is in deep distress. Its adored "gudiya" is now fighting for her life in Delhi. "We are praying for a divine curse on those who brutalised the child," a villager said.